A sweet season came to a bitter end for the Vanderbilt Commodores in Raleigh.
Led by Marissa Coleman's 42 points, an NCAA regional semifinal record, 1st-seeded Maryland (31-4) ended Vanderbilt's season for the second year in a row in the Sweet 16, coming from behind to win 78-74.
"We did everything we could possibly do to win this game but win the game," said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb.
The 4th-seeded Commodores (26-9) led the first 38 minutes of the contest, leading by as many as 18 in the first half and 11 in the second half, but Coleman kept hitting big shot after big shot and the Terrapins took their first lead of the game, 72-71, with two minutes to play on a lay-up by Demauria Liles and cap a 10-0 run.
Senior Christina Wirth hit two free throws to tie the game at 74 but Coleman was right there to hit a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds left to give her team the lead for good. Wirth missed a jumper on the next possession and Coleman hit two free throws after being fouled to put the game out of reach.
"I enjoy playing with my teammates," Coleman said. "I love wearing a Maryland uniform. So I'm going to do whatever I can to make this last as long as possible."
Balcomb said Coleman was just too good.
"We got in foul trouble and that really hurt us and down the stretch we just couldn't stop Marissa (Coleman)," she said. "It got tight down the end and offensively we didn't continue to make shots."
Maryland advanced to play third-seeded Lousiville in Monday's regional final, as the Commdores missed out on their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2002.
Wirth led Vanderbilt with 28 points, a career high, in her final collegiate game.
"It's really tough," Wirth said. "I feel like we won this game for 39 minutes and if you look at it we probably did. It's disappointing to give up that big of a lead."
Fellow senior Jen Risper scored 13 points in limited minutes, as she sat with foul trouble for crucial portions of the first and second halves. Her being out of the game was the difference; the Commodores had a +14 point margin when the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year was in and an astounding -18 when she wasn't.
Vanderbilt shot out to a 12-2 lead and kept extending its advantage, going up 33-15 after a 3-pointer by Merideth Marsh.
"We needed to attack them and I think we did that," Risper said.
Coleman scored 12 points the rest of the half though, as the Terrapins closed on a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to just three at halftime.
The Commodores kept taking Maryland's best shot in the second half and maintained their tenuous lead. They extended the advantage to 11 with 6:59 to play after the Terrapins' Lynetta Kizer was called for a technical foul after elbowing Wirth, and Marsh knocked down two free throws.
But Coleman was too much down the stretch, making a shot every time Maryland needed one to never let Vanderbilt pull away. She scored nine of their next 12 points, and the last four winning points, to put a crushing end to the Commodores' year.
"I'm disappointed for all of us, including our coaches," Wirth said. "I wish it would have come out differently, but I couldn't be more proud of our team."
